HAMPTON, Ga. — Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick will be glad to have their friend and boss back at the racetrack this weekend, and it’s not because of what he could add to their performance.

“I’m excited to have my friend back,” Harvick said Friday morning at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “I don’t really care about the racing side of it. I’m just happy to have my friend back and be able to talk to him and hug him and support him.

Harvick and Patrick, speaking after giving rides to breast cancer survivors as part of a Chevrolet initiative, had not talked with Stewart since the accident.

Stewart, who has missed the last three races following the accident, is scheduled to make his first public appearance at Atlanta Friday.

The Ontario County sheriff’s office investigation is ongoing, and a county spokeswoman said Friday morning she had no update to the announcement Aug. 12 that the investigation would take at least two weeks and possibly longer. At the time, there was no indication that there was probable cause to charge Stewart in the death, which his team has called a tragic accident.

“I have not seen him, but I heard from him last weekend telling me, ‘Good luck,’” Patrick said. “It was good to hear from him, and it will be good to have him back.

“Obviously he is a namesake to our team, and we’ll be all on board to help him with whatever he needs. But he’s Tony Stewart, so I’m sure he will be fine. With it being a tragic accident, it’s something to work through.”

Patrick said there’s no way to know how many races someone should take off before returning competition after being involved in such a tragic accident.

“Trying to feel something normal again might feel good to him,” Patrick said. “It was a tragic accident, so there’s no timeline when you work through that.”

The three-time Cup champion will speak to the media about 90 minutes prior to his first practice Friday afternoon.

“I don’t think he’d be here if he didn’t feel like he was ready,” Harvick said. “He’s got a lot of great people around him and a lot of support. I don’t think he would be here if he wasn’t ready.”

The co-owner of the cars for Harvick, Patrick and Kurt Busch, Stewart will have plenty of friends to lean on throughout the weekend.

“For him, that will be great medicine to have some type of normal activity in his life again that he hasn’t been able to have,” Harvick said.

“From a personal standpoint, I’m glad to see my friend and be able to talk to him and be able to support him through probably what will end up being the hardest situation he ever has had to go through in his whole life. I can’t wait to see him.”

Harvick reiterated his frustration over the portrayal of Stewart. He had just done an interview for NBC, whose Brian Williams is a big NASCAR fan and well-respected within the NASCAR industry, trying to explain driver emotions.

“Our sport is just like a lot of other sports,” Harvick said afterward. “There is a lot of emotion involved in what we do. You see the highlight reels of people throwing stuff, or in his particular case, Tony throwing stuff or getting mad or saying things and getting into the heat of the moment.

“You can make that highlight reel for all of us or most of us with that emotion attached to it. It’s tough to see and hear the things that are being tossed that way towards him.”